"There was a lot of crying... as if someone had died" - Iga Swiatek discloses inside details of how she found out about failed doping test

Iga Swiatek recently disclosed never-before-known details of her failed doping test. The Pole threw light on her emotional turmoil after finding out about the positive result.

Swiatek tested positive for low traces of a prohibited substance called trimetazidine (TMZ) during an out-of-competition test in August 2024. The incident came to light on November 28, after the ITIA (International Tennis Integrity Agency) handed her a one-month suspension, with a “no significant fault or negligence” verdict.

Besides the suspension, which saw her pull out of three tournaments, she was also stripped of the prize money she earned at the Cincinnati Open—the tournament immediately following her failed test.

Iga Swiatek recently appeared on a Polish television program, Fakty po Faktach, where she said she was inconsolable after realizing the seriousness of the situation.

"My reaction was very violent. It was a mixture of incomprehension and panic. There was a lot of crying," she recalled (Translated from Polish).

"My managers said that my reaction was as if someone had died or something serious had happened to their health," Swiatek added. "I am glad that I was not alone, because I could give them my phone and show them what happened."

Revealing how she has relayed the news, the five-time Grand Slam champion said:

"It was an email. We get notifications by email and text message when there is a problem or when we need to fill in something in the documents," she said.

"I opened the message and thought it was a notification that players automatically receive when they need to do something. But this time it turned out that the email was much more serious. Generally, I was not able to read it to the end, because I was already in tears," she recalled.

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"I'd never heard of its origin" – Iga Swiatek on the banned substance found in her failed doping test

Iga Swiatek pictured at the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November - Image Source: Getty

During the aforementioned interview, Iga Swiatek said she was blindsided and was certain there was “some mistake.”

"I thought it might be some mistake. I didn't really understand what was happening,” she said, expressing her disbelief.

According to the evidence provided, Iga Swiatek’s positive test was the result of her ingesting two or three TMZ-contaminated melatonin pills (used for sleep and stress) on August 12 (the day of her test).

"The name of the substance itself was completely foreign to me, I had never heard of its origin," she said. "I didn't think much, I was simply flooded with emotions."

Iga Swiatek was provisionally suspended from September 12 to October 4 while the investigation was still ongoing. She completed her one-month ban by serving the remaining seven days from November 28 to December 4 after a verdict was reached.